United States v. Mamie E. Perkins

LEVENTHAL, Circuit Judge:

Appellant was arrested on October 5, 1969, and charged with manslaughter. An indictment filed December 30, 1969, charged second-degree murder.1 A jury trial held in June, 1971, led to a verdict of guilty, and on September 22 appellant was given a sentence of 1 to 20 years. We vacate the judgment and remand for resentencing for manslaughter, unless the Government requests and the court orders a new trial.

I. FACTS

We abbreviate our statement of the facts so as to focus on the problem area of the case, the instructions to the jury —particularly those on malice and…